The
Nicktoons Film Festival
continues this Sunday with Screening 9, a selection of seven
shorts that will put a little magic back in your lifeespecially
during this stressful season! A co-production of Frederator
Studios and Animation Magazine for Nicktoons, The
Nicktoons Film Festival airs on the Nicktoons cable channel
Sunday nights at 10 p.m (EST) and 7 p.m. (PST), with a repeat
at 1 p.m. (EST) and 10 p.m. (PST). The films featured in Screening
9The "Magic In Small Things" Show are: The
Turn-Off by Holly Klein, a director with credits on Blues
Clues and Little Bill; Its My Turn
from CalArts grad Hwang Nguyen; Kenya from U.K. animator
Jonti Picking, creator of the ultra-popular shorts series
Weebl & Bob; Coolman! Deep Sea Blues from
Nelvana filmmakers Arna Selznick and John Van Bruggen; Haina:
A Concert from Brazilian artist Arnaldo Galvao; Gumbuster
from Icelandic filmmaker Hrefna Bragadottir; and a set of
Ape Escape shorties from director Yorifusa Yamaguchi,
Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment and Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc.

Film
#1: The Turn-Off (Length: 6:10; 2D cutout animation
with a 3D character)Obsessed with TV? Oh right youre
watching our show arent you? Well, you probably dont
have it as bad as filmmaker Holly Klein. "The Turn-Off,"
she explains, "is based on me, and how I grew up constantly
watching TV. It's about the dependence that we all have with
media to constantly teach, entertain and relax us and ultimately
tell us who we are, what we like and maybe even what we're
good at. I wanted to portray TV as a good guy and a bad guy
all at once. He's the enemy who lives with you and that you
just can't stop watching. And why would you want to?"
(To contact Holly Klein e-mail her at [email protected])

Film
#2: Its My Turn (Length: 2:50; Pencil)According
to filmmaker Hwang Nguyen, its the little moments in
life that make the best creative fodder. When we screened
Its My Turn, we liked the animation, but now
that we found out about the magical and rather naughty little
moment the short was based on, we like it even more. Says
Nguyen, "I wanted to tell an entertaining story with
interesting characters and was inspired by my sister, Anna.
One day my brother and I were playing Puzzle Bubble
and my sister came in and wanted to play, too but we wouldnt
let her. How unfair of us older brothers, huh? Come
on guys, let me play. Hey, its my turn. Its my
turn! She kept at it for a while and I think we both
ended up leaving and letting her play by herself." This
story proves that even sibling rivalry can lead to great inspiration.
(If you want to chat about animation or your annoying little
sister, write Hwang Nguyen at [email protected])

Film
#3: Kenya (Length: :49; Flash) A word of great warning:
dont watch this cartoon if youre at all susceptible
to a catchy tune. Thats right, if youre the type
to get music stuck in your head DO NOT watch Kenya.
One of our fave filmmakers, Mr. J. Picking (a.k.a. Weebl),
made this short just to torture us and weve got to say
that we can definitely take the pain. Not only is that bad
little lion adorable, we dig this shorts very British
humor and, of course, cant stop singing that darn song!
(Check out Weebls well-visited cartoon site (www.weebls-stuff.com)
for more shorts, including an offer for the new Weebl &
Bob DVD of shorts that aired on MTV-UK.

Film
#4: Coolman! Deep Sea Blues (Length: 5:00; Flash)Animation
director Arna Selznick created the character Coolman with
John Van Bruggen (Beetlejuice, Dog City), a
director and writer who happens to also be her husband. Selznick
has more than twenty years of cartoon experience with credits
that include Canadas Golden Reel award for the direction
of the original Care Bears Movie. Well, in terms of
design, this episode of Coolman, titled Deep Sea
Blues, is about as far afield of the Care Bears as a good
cup of java at a beatnik poetry reading. We really like the
pacing of this cartoon, the character design and that funky
Coolmanthe hip alter ego of one worn-out everyman named
Lester. Tune in to see how Lesters purchase of a goldfish
takes him to the coolest place of all, the bottom of the deep
blue sea. (To find out more about the filmmakers and other
Coolman shorts produced for Canadas major indie house,
Nelvana, e-mail [email protected].)

Film
#5: Haina: A Concert (Length: :30, 2D animation)If
youre having a little difficulty seeing the magic in
life, may we recommend a dash of witchcraft? Although it really
is only a dash, this beautiful and silly little short grabs
your imagination and tickles your heart. We hope you enjoy
the spell that Brazilian filmmaker Arnaldo Galvao casts in
Haina; we know were still enchanted. (To reach Arnaldo
Galvao, e-mail [email protected])

Film
#6: Gumbuster (Length: 3:33; 2D Animation)Filmmaker
Hrefna Bragadottir says that what she loves most about animation
is the fact that absolutely anything is possible. Her unusual
and totally endearing short, Gumbuster, definitely
proves her point. Heres how Bragadottir came up with
the film: "[The idea] started developing when I was walking
the gum-infested streets of England after a late night. Pieces
of gum were scattered all over the place and looked like little,
squashed aliens that did not belong there at all. For some
odd reason it made me think of a chewing gum cloud that attacks
cities around the world with chewing gum rain. This, however,
had no storyline or meaning and was just a little gag that
made me chuckle. It wasn't until I did my three-month work
placement at Varga Studios in Budapest that I really started
developing the concept of chewing gum on the streets. If the
pieces of gum had some other purpose, like tremendous singing
talent, they could perhaps turn things around! I don't know
why pieces of gum would sing, but at least it convinced the
characters of Gumbuster to stop spitting it on the
streets!" (To find out more about filmmaker Hrefna Bragadottir,
check out her website at www.flufftoons.com.)

Film
#7: Ape Escape (Length: 5:00; CG)Were running
quite a few Ape Escapes, little one-minute fun-packed
adventures of a boy and his crazy apes. Wed spend more
time describing them, but wed spoil the punchlines.
Lets just say if you like fart jokes, monkeys and wacky
music, you wont want to let these little shorts get
away. All of our Ape Escape shorts were directed by
Yorifusa Yamaguchi and come to us from Shogakukan Music &
Digital Entertainment, courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc.